Malaysia to face Thailand in women’s hockey final

Malaysia whipped Indonesia 10-0 in their final preliminary match to set up a date with Thailand in the final of the women's hockey competition at the Theinphyu Hockey Stadium tomorrow.

With the win, Malaysia, the pre-games favourite for the gold medal in the 27th Myanmar SEA Games, kept its 100 percent unbeaten record intact.

Thailand booked their berth in the final after edging Singapore 4-2 in the other deciding match played today.

Norbaini Hashim's 5th minute goal opened the floodgates for Malaysia's 10-goal feat, while Norhidayah Ahmad Bokhari made it 2-0 from a penalty corner strike in the 12th minute.

Seven minutes later, Norhasliza Md Ali added the third before Norbaini was again on target for her second of the match and Malaysia's fourth in the 23rd minute.

Norhashikin Halim made it 5-0 before halftime from a penalty corner strike in the 29th minute, but the goals continued to flow in the second half as Nadia Abdul Rahman added the sixth in the 41st minute.

Nurul Nabihah Mansur came into the scoring act in the 57th minute to make it 7-0, before Nuraini Abdul Rashid added a brace in the 62nd and 64th minutes, while Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed completed the rout with a clinical strike in the 66th minute.

Meanwhile, Norbaini emerged as the top scorer in the competition with eight goals thus far, but the SEA Games does not offer a golden stick award.

Coach Mohd Nasihin Nublin Ibrahim said despite the emphatic win, the players did not go all out in the match as a precaution to reserve their energy for the final tomorrow.

He said though Malaysia had beaten Thailand in their preliminary match, the final would be a different ball game. - Bernama, December 19, 2013.

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